my favorite products

Shutterfly outdid themselves this year with their amazing 2018 Christmas cards selection.

As you know, we are big Shutterfly fans in this house, and once again I was pleasantly surprised with their adorable cards. Now that we are a family of five, I found that I gravitated towards the card options with more than 4 photo slots, so that I could highlight each of the girls.

This year I found that they really up-ed their game on the total card package. Not only are their card options fabulous, but their envelope liners and pre-addressed envelopes are so creative and colorful! I am all about the feeling you get when you pick-up a card out of your mailbox; the happy mail experience starts with the envelope! Continue Reading

Over the last few months I’ve been blessed with more time to read due to cuddling a newborn! I decided to soak up some of our snuggles with tunes on in the background (John Mayer + James Morrison on Pandora) and cozying up with a good book. And in doing so, I have been blessed greatly by quiet time and books that have taken me along for journeys, life stories, laughter, tears and adventures.

6 of my favorite Recent Reads

Our third little girl has joined the family our life has been nonstop ever since! Newborns love attention and want to be held and loved on ALL.THE.TIME. While this time is precious for me, it can be hard to do with two other kiddos running around the house. So my “to-do” list has become more of a “if I can get to it” list. One item on my list that kept getting pushed off was making Kensie’s birth announcements. We had beautiful pictures taken by the fabulous La Brisa Photography. The edited images were back in a jiffy and just waiting for me to make the announcement. In my mind, I thought it would be such a daunting, time consuming task. Which is ridiculous because with Shutterfly, it is such a quick, easy and painless creation! I should have made them sooner.

This post was in collaboration with Shutterfly. (#partner) I received some of these items in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #MyShutterfly

Shutterfly is so easy to use and their quality and results are fabulous. I am a big fan! I was able to upload my beautiful newborn photos and create a photo card masterpiece in minutes. I was beyond thrilled with their card styles and options, that I actually found it hard to pick a favorite. I decided this time around to do something different and I created two cards to alleviate the pressure of choosing just one. I love that Shutterfly offers the opportunity to make each card your own, with the choice of card layouts, colors and fonts… It really is your own presonalized creation.

I made one card in a tri-fold/multi-sided style to give to my family members that want cuteness overload, and a more traditional 2-sided 6×8 photo card for our friends. Both birth announcements turned out fabulous and we couldn’t be more pleased!

Girlie number 3 is six weeks new and I am living on caffeine and snuggles! Since we are in the newborn survival stage I thought it would be fun to share a few items that have kept ‘us’ going – items that both Kensie and I love. They are mostly nursing and sleep related because let’s face it, up until now that is all newbies do in the beginning. And if you recall from my previous posts, since we didn’t know her gender prior to birth, practically every item listed below has been 2-day shipped to my home via Amazon Prime. Lifesaver!

To give you a little back story, I have really struggled with nursing all three of my girls, and to say the first few weeks of nursing has been rough would be an understatement. Between the pain, engorgement, plugged ducts/mastitis, latching and what seems to be a never ending cycle of feeds… it is and has been an exhausting journey, again! But, I am hanging in there and the nursing/feeding items below are probably why. Don’t be afraid to admit it is hard, because it is… use whatever aids you need to get through! Not all nursing journeys are easy, so do your best to not doubt your body or be too hard on yourself. And yes, I need to be better at taking my own advice. Which is why I am sharing my ‘breast friends’ below!

Newborn Necessities

This post is #sponsored by Kroger Family of Stores, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. #LoveMyFrys

For anyone that follows me, you know that I love Fry’sand that since having my third daughter I have especially become fond of their Fry’s ClickList grocery pick up. As an AZ resident, my family also loves Arizona Diamondbacks baseball. And yes, we are super excited about their first place start to this season! So you may be wondering… “What do Fry’s and the Diamondbacks have to do with each other?”… Well thankfully for people like me (and maybe you?), quite a bit! I just found out that these two loves of mine have united. Diamondbacks/Fry’s V.I.P Reward program allows you to purchase select items at any of the Kroger Family of Stores to earn Diamondbacks rewards. WIN-WIN!

Here’s how it works:

Dear February 2018,

February 2018, you did not disappoint in the LOVE department, it definitely was a red and pink-filled 28 days! It was a month filled with family time and of course lots of sweets! Let’s just face it, little girls just love everything Valentines! The girls had their first father daughter dance, and it was beyond adorable. The weather got the love memo as well, and has been dreamy and chilly – my favorite! We were able to take a family trip to the mountains for some much needed bundled-up family time. And now as we enter March we have a 3 year old birthday to celebrate and just a few weeks to-go before baby #3 joins the party! So much to look forward to!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – February 2018 ::

December is here so you know what that means… 2017 Christmas Card Season is upon us.

YAY for Happy Mail! 🙂

This year I decided to order our 2017 Christmas Cards through one of our favorite online stationery companies… Shutterfly! If you are a regular here at Espresso Ever After you already know how much I adore partnering with Shutterfly and all of their personalized options; they make beautiful and quality goods for all to love! To tell you the truth, this pregnancy has really slowed me down this year and I am so thankful that I can trust Shutterfly with this aspect of the holiday season. The tired mama in me wanted to skip the photos and the card making, but since Shutterfly was able to help me with the heavy lifting… It was worth it. Their online program is extremely user-friendly and their options this year are unique and creative. As usual I loved so many of them, that I had a hard time narrowing down my favorite card styles.

We went with a bright and colorful look for our photos this year, and I knew I wanted to pick a card that offered a happy and cheerful theme. When I found this 5×7 Gate Fold Card, I knew it was the winner. It offered multiple text areas, different sized photo slots, 2 types of paper styles and a fun flip-open effect. Thank you Shutterfly for always bringing a winner! Continue Reading

My girls love playing dress up and make believe, so picking out Halloween costumes every year has become an exciting time for all! This year I took my girls to the store and let their imaginations run wild. I gave them each the opportunity to pick out their favorite costumes and they both picked adorable and creative looks!

To successfully host a family-friendly home-gating party you need to focus on three main aspects: tasty treats, a kids activity corner & of course team spirit!

Big Little Lies is filled with friendship and laughter, touching moments, twists, murder and a dramatic ending… after all isn’t that what you want out of a good fiction book? When you read this book you will understand why it is on the New York Times Bestseller list and why it was turned into a tv show. To be honest, I heard about the tv show before I read this book and that sparked me to read the book first, and I am so glad I did!